System and method for assisting in troubleshooting a network handling voice over internet protocol traffic

• US 8,274,901 B1
• Filed: 09/06/2006
• Issued: 09/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ciena Corporation
• Original Assignee: Packet Design, Inc. (Ciena Corporation)
• Inventors: Poduri, Kedar, Alaettinoglu, Cengiz, Jacobson, Van, Casner, Stephen L, Alonso, Rodrigo G
• Primary Examiner(s): Ngo, Ricky
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gidado, Rasheed
• Application Number:
  US11/517,071
• Time in Patent Office: 2,211 Days
• Field of Search: 370/216, 370/252, 370/235, 370/248, 709/224, 709/225, 379/32.01, 379/32.02, 379/112.01
• US Class Current: 370/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0618 based on the physical or logical position
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8061 Selecting least cost route depending on origin or type of service

Abstract

A system and method allocates dropped packets from a call detail record in a voice over Internet Protocol to links or nodes the call traversed, and to events that occurred during the call and prefixes corresponding to the phones used in the call, along with a report in decreasing order of the dropped packets for the nodes, links, events and prefixes, to allow a system administrator to help identify the source of the dropped packets.

Claims

1. A method of providing information for correcting network problems, comprising:

receiving information concerning each of at least one use of the network, the information comprising a start time of the use, an end time of the use, and at least one number of packets dropped by the network and related to the use;

receiving a plurality of messages for identifying at least one route between each of a plurality of nodes on the network;

storing each of the plurality of messages, each message stored associated with at least one time corresponding to said message;

identifying at least one path that was at least likely to have been taken for each of the at least one use by locating from among the stored plurality of messages at least one of the plurality of the stored messages received that is associated with a time corresponding to at least one of the start time and end time of each said use, responsive to the times with which the plurality of messages are associated and at least one of the start time of the at least one use and the end time of the at least one use;

for each of the at least one use of the network, adding, to contents of a counter for each of a plurality of entities on the at least one path identified for said use, a number responsive to at least one of the number of packets dropped that was received for the use; and

providing the contents of at least some of the counters.

2. A system for providing information for correcting network problems, comprising:

a call detail record manager having an input for receiving information concerning each of at least one use of the network, the information comprising a start time of the use, an end time of the use, and at least one number of packets dropped by the network and related to the use, the call detail record manager for providing said information at an output;

a routing messages receiver having an input for receiving plurality of messages for identifying at least one route between each of a plurality of nodes on the network, the routing messages receiver for storing via an output each of the plurality of messages, each message stored associated with at least one time corresponding to said message;

a path identifier having an input coupled to the routing messages receiver output for receiving the messages, the path identifier for identifying and providing at an output at least one path that was at least likely to have been taken for each of the at least one use by locating from among the stored plurality of messages at least one of the plurality of messages received associated with a time corresponding to at least one of the start time and end time of said use, responsive to the times with which the plurality of messages are associated and at least one of the start time of the at least one use and the end time of the at least one use;

a dropped packets allocator having an input coupled to the call detail record manager output for receiving the information and to the path identifier output for receiving the at least one path, the dropped packets allocator for, for each of the at least one use of the network, adding, to contents of a counter for each of a plurality of entities on the at least one path identified for said use, a number responsive to at least one of the number of packets dropped that was received for the use; and

for providing the contents of at least some of the counters at an output.